Impossible Probability: Anthology, Vol 12

While the introduction of certain policies by a government may be seen as politics rather than quasi-experimentation—for example, the introduction of specific economic policies—in reality governments continually experiment with and manipulate socio-economic variables, often with no real guarantee of success. This is one reason our technology has reached its current situation of stand-by in the UK: a lack of perspective, a lack of planning, and the repeated trial of new formulas and experiments without any clear idea of what to do next. This lack of planning by the British government regarding our technology can be cited as a downside of quasi-experimentation undertaken without a long-term plan. My experience in London—during trips under Gordon Brown in 2009, David Cameron in 2012 and 2016, and, from 2017, under Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak, and Keir Starmer—is that UK Prime Ministers generally lack a clear vision of our technology and do not appreciate its importance. Since 2017, UK governments have attempted to experiment in real-world contexts without legal guarantees and without providing the appropriate support or frameworks. The situation we now face in London stems from insufficient legal advice and inadequate safety policies regarding our technology.